Tom Brady Should Be Favorite for NFL MVP After Monday Night Blowout

The New England Patriots made a statement on Monday night with their 42-14 home victory over the Houston Texans, a team largely considered the NFL's best and most-balanced entering Week 14.

While the Patriots put together a total team effort, it was Tom Brady's orchestration of the league's best offense that caught the eye of everyone around the league—the type of attention that will draw a myriad of MVP chatter all week.

Not that Tom Brady needs a showcase game, but if he plays well and Pats win, the MNF stage will give him a huge push in the MVP race.

Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck are also of consideration. But Brady's 296-yard, four-touchdown performance against one of the league's best defenses just positioned him in the front of the pack.

As long as Brady is healthy and New England is winning, the quarterback's name will always be synonymous with those three letters: M-V-P.

Teams ride hot streaks into the postseason. Quarterbacks of those teams reap the bulk of the praise.

New England has won seven straight games largely because of Brady's leadership and his 1,988 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to only one interception during that stretch.

On the season, he has tallied 3,833 passing yards and 29 touchdowns while throwing just four picks. When you factor in his cool demeanor under center, no one can match what Brady brings to the table.

The Patriots will need to carry the momentum into next week when they welcome the San Francisco 49ers into Foxboro on Sunday night—a game that will be talked up as a potential Super Bowl preview after their performance on Monday night.

While the 49ers may pose problems for the Patriots offense, the same thing was assumed of the Texans. If Brady shreds San Francisco's defense next week similar to how he did Houston's on Monday night, the NFL can start engraving his name on the MVP trophy during the post-game press conference.